Celtic boss hails Aussie comeback star Rogic
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Celtic manager Ronny Deila heaped praise on Tom Rogic after the Australian impressed on his return to the Scottish champions' starting line-up for the first time in nearly two years.
Rogic has endured a frustrating time at Celtic Park since arriving from A-League side Central Coast Mariners in January 2013. The Socceroos star suffered several injury problems and found his game time limited under former manager Neil Lennon before being shipped back to Australia for a loan spell with Melbourne Victory.
The 22-year-old had not started for Celtic since a shock League Cup defeat to Morton in September 2013. But after impressing in pre-season training and in a fleeting cameo in the final throws of their UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie with Iceland's Stjarnan in July, Rogic took his place in the Celtic side that faced Partick Thistle on Sunday.
And the Australian wasted no time in impressing Deila, with the midfielder opening the scoring in the 28th minute with a fine flicked finish with his heel as he helped the Hoops to a 2-0 win.
"He took his opportunity very well. The goal was nice and came at the end of a very good piece of play," the Celtic manager said. "He should have played before because he has been good in training and I know he is going to be a good player for us.
"He was very good in the first half but he got tired later on. You can see what kind of talent he is. He needs minutes under his belt now to get even better. His touch of the ball, awareness, scanning, understanding. There are a lot of things he can give to the team."
"I know he is going to be a good player for us."
Celtic manager Ronny Deila on Tom Rogic
And with Celtic looking to continue their domestic dominance while hoping for a longer run in Europe this season, the Hoops boss said Rogic - who has been capped nine times for his country - would be given plenty more opportunities to shine. "I told him I hadn't seen him so much when I came here. I saw he was injured but when we got him back I saw he had something special," Deila said.
"He is a very good football player and I told him he'd never leave this club without getting a real chance. Now he's showing he deserves a chance and he's a very good professional that wants to develop and has a lot to give. I think we'll see much more of him."
Celtic's win against Thistle at Firhill means the Glasgow giants now occupy their familiar position at the top of the league table on goal difference ahead of newly-promoted Hearts, who defeated Dundee 2-1 on Saturday.
Deila was happy with his side's first half showing but expressed disappointment at how they finished the match. "I think the first 35 minutes was some of the best football we've played this season," the Celtic manager, whose side now face Kilmarnock on Wednesday, said.
"We moved the ball well, we were very good defensively and we created chances. But we got a little bit tired at the end of the second half. We had some players who hadn't played 90 minutes in a long time and we were a little bit sloppy."